History of Wuhan Iron & Steel

Wuhan Iron & Steel is the 11th largest steelmaker in the world, producing ~26 million tonnes (mt) of steel in 2015.

The timeline below covers the history of the firm.

1955: Construction of Wuhan iron and steel facilities commences.

1958: Wuhan Iron and Steel (Group) Corp (WISCO) founded in 1958.

1959: Open hearth furnace No.1 put into production at Qingshan.

1963: Qingshan heavy steel rolling mill project completed.

1970: WISCO production of iron & steel reaches 1 million tons.

2005: Acquisition by Wuhan of 51% equity of Liuzhou Iron & Steel.

2006: Chinese wire rope m/f jv agreed with Wire Corp of America.

2007: Plan for integration of Kunmin Steel by WISCO agreed.

2008: WISCO sets up trading office on US West Coast.

2009: Acquisition announced of Echeng Iron and Steel by WISCO.

2009: Commissioning by Liuzhou Steel of new convertor at Nanning.

2012: Long-term export cooperation agreement signed with POSCO.

2012: Purchase completed by Wuhan of remaining equity of Liuzhou.

2012: Wuhan Steel drops plans to build Brazil steel mill.

2012: Agreement to buy ThyssenKrupp's tailored blanks division.

2013: Wuhan in talks to develop iron ore project in West Africa.

2014: First shipment made of iron ore from Liberia.

2015: Reported interest in privatisation of PSM.

2015: Concern emerging about status of WISCO foreign investments.

2016: Start-up expected of new 8.6 mt/yr steelworks Fangchengang.

2016: Merger takes place of Baosteel and Wuhan Iron & Steel

Notes

1955: WISCO started civil work at its Qingshan plant. This step symbolised the birth of the first 'steel city' in new China.

1974: New steel mill equipment was introduced from the former Federal Republic of Germany and from Japan. This set a precedent for the introduction of modern foreign technology to the Chinese Iron and Steel Industry, as was therefore a notable step for the industry.

2012: The plans to build a steel plant in Brazil were dropped after negotiations on infrastructure investment [railways and port terminals] floundered, according to a Wugang spokesman.

2012: The acquisition by Wuhan of TKS's stamping assets marked China's entry into German steel-rolling.

2013: These talks concerned the Mbalam iron ore project, which straddles the border between Cameroon and The Republic of Congo and has a planned annual capacity of ~35 million metric tonnes of the steelmaking raw material.

2014: Liberia Bong Mines was the first overseas iron ore mines to be developed by WISCO. WISCO Sino-Africa (HK) Mining Co. Ltd celebrated making its first shipment of iron ore fines to WISCO in February 2014.

2015: Representatives from WISCO reportedly took part in discussions relating to the privatisation of Pakistan Steel Mills in October 2015.

2015: WISCO foreign investments include iron ore mines in Brazil and in Canada. WISCO controlled up to 20 percent of MMX Mineracao & Metalicos SA, which owns iron ore mines in Brazil and Chile but which went bankrupt at end-2014. WISCO is also a business partner with U.S. mining company Cliffs Natural Resources Inc., operator of the Bloom Lake mine in Quebec, which in suspended production in early 2015.

2016: This refers to the planned commissioning of a new greenfield integrated steel plant at Fangchengang Port, a project estimated to cost ~$9.5 billion.

2016: Upon merger of Baosteel and Wuhan Iron and Steel, the 52-year-old chairman of the Wuhan Iron and Steel Group Mr Ma Guoqiang becomes the new chairman of the merged entity.